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By Haidar Elias

At just 22, Maxwell Ansah aka Lethal B could be called one of the pioneers of Grime music. The street anthem ‘Pow! (Forward Riddim)’ was an underground smash which got huge attention from DJs and industry heads across the country. This prompted Relentless Records to release it commercially, and in 2004 it became one of the biggest Grime tracks ever recorded. The 808 handclaps and spiky organ riff coupled with chants of ‘Pow!! Pow!!’ created a fully charged and rampant tune which led to some raves shutting down due to the intensity of the song. However that didn’t stop the tune from reaching number 11 in the UK Top 40 Singles Charts.

Coming straight out of East London, Lethal B started his career off with a bang. As part of the More Fire Crew they released ‘Oi!’ in 2002, getting into the top ten in the singles charts. It was a huge Garage hit and propelled the trio towards stardom in the British urban music scene. Following on from that, the crew released a full length LP called ‘More Fire Crew CV’ on Go Beat Records, a subsidiary of Universal. Unfortunately, due to lukewarm responses from their last two singles, the label folded and More Fire Crew were dropped. Determined not to give up, Lethal B continued to work on the scene, and is being hailed as the ‘comeback kid’ of 2005. With his full length LP ready for release this summer, Lethal B is ready to show people how it’s done.

Talking about his album, Lethal wastes no time in explaining. “The album is dropping on August 15th under D2 Records. The lead single is out at the moment and it’s called ‘Uh-Oh!’, which was produced by Sticky.” He continued, “Basically the album is about me personally; I guess you could say the journey of Lethal B. How it all started from when I was in More Fire Crew to being dropped from the label to getting signed again to where I am right now.” However, in terms of collaborations on the LP, there weren’t as many as expected. “Well I kept the album personal, but I got a joint with Kele Le Roc. Fire Camp and Fumin are also on there, but that’s it,” he confirmed. When I asked what his favourite track on the album was, he replied, “Probably ‘Mind Your Head’; it’s got a raw feel to it, reminds me of the same energy as ‘Pow’ so it’s a definite banger.”

Since starting his own label, Lethal B has been busy promoting his own music and artists. Other than releasing ‘Forward Riddim’ last year, Lethal B also released ‘No’ with Fire Camp. Once again an underground smash, its video received heavy rotation on Channel U as well as from DJs up and down the country. When asked about future releases from other artists on his imprint, Lethal replied: “Yeah definitely, we got a Fire Camp LP lined up for early next year so watch out for that.”

On the back of two successful singles in the past six months, I put forward the question on how life has been since establishing his own venture. “It’s nice man, reminds me of the More Fire days when we brought out ‘Oi!’, but feels even better now since it’s my own thing. I mean I got known from More Fire but now I’m progressing even further and it feels good!”

The success didn’t just happen overnight and even though he’s got a foot in the urban music industry there’s still plenty of work to be done as Lethal explained. “Right now it’s pretty hectic, ’cos I’m preparing the release of my album, so there are a lot of promos I got to do like press interviews, meetings with the label. On top of that I have to go to the studio; I don’t sleep till like 5am. It’s long but I’m maintaining still.”

Using his venture as a platform, Lethal B has also moved on to investing in properties and real estate. “It’s nothing special but you know, I’m more about thinking for the future ’cos this music thing can just come and go, so it’s nice to put some money away rather than spending it on new whips, ice and that.”

Competition in the Grime scene has always been fierce and with so many artists wanting to make a name for themselves, lyrical bouts between emcees are common. I wondered whether there was still tension between Lethal Bizzle and Wiley, but the MC was quick to squash that thought. “Boy, for me personally, it’s dead! You know? I got other things on my mind rather than clashing with him. I mean, it started off with him being the top boy and he was working really hard and so was I, and me being an ambitious guy and at that time I was just coming through; I thought I’d try and be the best. It just started popping off from there really and it dragged on and on and on, but nowadays I just don’t care for it! Get me?” Loud and clear.

Never being the type of person to pigeonhole his music, Lethal B is open to a variety of music genres, most notably his interest in rock. “Yeah man for me, I’m feeling the whole rock thing. It’s raw energy, like pure passion; kinda like my music.” When asked which artists he was feeling in rock, he replied, “They did some song called ‘American Idiot’. I think they’re called Green Day… Yeah, they’re heavy! They’re on like a political level but I like them still. I’d definitely like to do a track with them. Get the Grime-rock thing going on!”

With other Grime artists such as Roll Deep and Kano dropping albums this year and both being touted for success, does Lethal B feel pressured by the competition to produce music that’s more commercially viable, rather than sticking to his formula and carry on doing his thing? “I do feel it to an extent, if I said I didn’t I’d be lying ’cos with anything in the music industry, sales matters, but at the end of the day, I’ve been doing my thing for a while now and I do music for my fans,” he replied. “I’m not gonna fully adapt my style so that mans who weren’t feeling it in the first place can start to like it, you know?” he reasoned. “I feel there’s more longevity in the game if you stick to your formula and just do your thing and whoever likes it likes it and whoever doesn’t, it’s all good still.”

With such a confident approach to the music industry, Lethal B is very optimistic for the future and on the back of his recent successes, it’s easy to see why. It appears that Lethal B is ever ready to face the challenges that are put to him in the coming months, and with his single all over the radio and his full length LP ‘Against All Oddz’ out in the shops, it would seem that the future is bright for this aspiring young entrepreneur.

Lethal B’s latest single ‘Uh-Oh!’ and his debut album ‘Against All Oddz’ are both out now on D2 Records. For more information, visit: www.lethalbizzle.co.uk.